Roto Riteup: August 20, 2021

Good Question:

I don't understand how Shohei Ohtani can be one of the best pitchers and one of the best hitters in baseball but NFL teams need two different players for field goals and punts.

— Mike Maher (@mikeMaher) August 20, 2021

On the Agenda: 

1. Quick Hits
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

 

Quick Hits

Eric Haase was placed on the IL with an abdominal strain. This is disappointing news as he had turned into an every format play at catcher. There is no timetable for his return but the hope is that he can return after a short stay considering that the Tigers tried to see if he could avoid the IL all together. 

Freddy Peralta was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. This is concerning especially as the playoff bound Brewers are more concerned with his ability to pitch in October rather than September. 

Odubel Herrera left Thursday’s game after being hit on the elbow with a pitch. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Patrick Sandoval was placed on the IL with a lumbar spine stress reaction. It sounds like this could end his season, which would be unfortunate. 

 

Various News and Notes
Andrew Vaughn went 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks in the loss to the Athletics.

Going… Going… VAUGHN!

Andrew Vaughn gives the White Sox the lead! pic.twitter.com/5eyqi4LPtr

— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) August 19, 2021

Vaughn has been extremely hot this month, hitting four home runs with a .302 batting average. He has a ton of talent in the bat and is finally getting going. He will likely be underrated heading into 2022, so now might be the time to try and buy low in keeper leagues, if that is possible.

Madison Bumgarner threw eight innings in the victory over the Phillies, allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk while striking out five.

One of two Madison Bumgarner double snot rockets from today's outing. #Dbacks – #MadBum pic.twitter.com/qTiAREgXEX

— 𝚂𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕🌻 (@Fawn_Liebowitz) August 20, 2021

Bumgarner continues to make his reduced velocity work with good control. The command comes and goes, but when it is good, so is he. He is a reasonable team streamer the rest of the way, but hard to trust because it can all go wrong in a hurry.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Nestor Cortes vs MIN

Cortes has been really good for the Yankees and has a nice matchup here. 

High Risk Options: Elieser Hernandez at CIN, Luis Patino vs CHW, Jaime Barria at CLE, Miles Mikolas vs PIT.

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: J.A. Happ vs PIT

Happ has been great since being traded to St. Louis, throwing 16.2 innings while allowing just three earned runs while striking out 11. He has a nice matchup versus a dreadful Pirates team. 

High Risk Options: Drew Smyly at BAL, Eric Lauer vs WAS, Kyle Freeland vs ARI.

 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from the recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”